John Adamson Rocks at Melville Motocross

The Melville Motor Club has been running a winter series at Lochhouses Farm in East Lothian for 12 years, the sandy ground was perfect for riding, even during the winter in Scotland, not an easy achievement. The news that the farmer had changed the setup and another event was not possible came as a major blow and it looked bleak for the Melville Motocross Winter series.

A chance meeting saw Bobby Jack introduced to the farmer next door at Scougall Farm and he offered land which was to prove ideal, the Motocross was back on the agenda and 204 riders showed their enthusiasm by entering on Sunday the 30th November, the weather was kind and a great day was had by all. The ground was very similar to Lochhouses and rutted up nicely. The Bass Rock proved a beautiful backdrop to all the action as the photographs were to prove.

There were two problems on the day, the first was a waterlogged start line which resulted in a flag start and the fading light. The light at this time of year is always a problem and ultimately the last races had to be shortened with the last race for the C’s cancelled altogether.

Despite the issues there was plenty of action and the riders were able to make the most of the weather early in the day. It was very slippery to start with but the track continued to improve all day. The club is confident that things will get better as they get used to the new venue.

The A class was dominated by John Adamson who has worked his way through the ranks over the years at Lochhouses and ultimately took the overall at this new track never looking troubled by the other riders. Behind him there were mixed fortunes ending with Steven Craig finishing second with Ross Fitzimmons a credible third.

Gordon Morrison put in a gritty performance on his trusty old Honda two stroke to take the overall in the adult B class with Raymond McKinney in second and Liam Walshaw third.

The fading light cost the C class their third race but a 15 minute long first race saw Steven Airey win overall, he was in a class of his own with Alan Morton second and John Lamont third after two decent races..

Dylan Carnegie won the Youth MX 2 Class with a very tidy rider, Scott Paterson in second place and Lewis Campbell finished third.

The 85 Big Wheel class saw a two lap dash as the last race as the light was fading although Ryan Thomson won every race with Sam Donnan second and Craig Kidd finishing third.

Sam Atkinson found it very slippery in the first race but once he found his confidence there was no stopping him taking the overall in the 85 small wheels with James Haddow second and Andrew Pohlen third.

The most admired riders of the day were the 65’s, the soft going, deep ruts and fading light did not dampen the enthusiasm of these young lads with Ayden Smith riding with a maturity beyond his years ultimately taking the overall. This does not take away from the others with Callum Robinson finishing second and Andrew Anderson in third.

The terrain proved the most difficult for the youngest riders in the auto class, it was hard work but the majority of them made the most of it. Ryan McKinney won all three races by a considerable margin but Jake Robley second and Ryan Lowes in third. All riders in the auto class won a well deserved trophy for battling around their shortened lap.

Results

The club would like to thank everybody who made this event happen, especially Scougall Farm, there was help from the ladies from the SMXF who did the lap scoring in the freezing cold, a special thank you to them and lets hope there will be events here for the next 12 years. There will be another Melville Motocross event here in early 2015, possibly late January or early February, riders should keep in touch through the Melville website www.melvillemc.co.uk  or the usual contacts on Facebook.